start a fire

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Chilean police announced on Thursday the arrest of a third person in the country's wildfire-ravaged south who they said was deliberately trying to start a fire.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

“Now everything is so wet it is hard to even start a fire with wood,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025

Police said an emergency dispatcher received a call shortly before 7 a.m. about a man trying to start a fire in the parking lot of the Banfield Pet Hospital at 5380 Ralston St.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024

"We get wood, start a fire, make dough, put it into portions, let it rise. This is what we're doing now. This process takes at least three hours," she says.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2024

All I had to do was rush outside and start a fire with all that firewood I’d stockpiled.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo